Attention is thought to be a function of working memory. It can be consciously directed towards specific tasks, or it can be ‘grabbed’ by a distracting event such as a flashing light or the sound of one's name. This can be advantageous, to direct a person's attention towards a warning or impending hazard, or can be a distraction if a flashing light disrupts attention away from the task at hand.

For each individual, attention can be overloaded if too many things have to be kept in mind at once, in which case items or tasks may be forgotten. For example, if a person attempts to cook while having a conversation or reading, it is likely that something will be forgotten or an action will be missed.

Working memory performance is also affected by the time taken to process incoming sensory information, and to decide on, and implement, the required response. For example, when driving a car, incoming sensory information is continually processed in the form of road hazards, signs, and information from the vehicle. If the user cannot process and respond to the incoming information fast enough, then newly arriving information passes unnoticed, or existing information is lost.

Working memory has limited overall resources which are divided amongst separate visual and verbal modes, each of which use their own storage.